How to convince wife it's time for a new car?

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Originally Posted By: PimTac
Am I the only one here thinking that the Impala didn’t hold up very well for only 130,000 miles? While I’m not a fan of GovMo this car should be in much better shape for that mileage.

I would consider something else.


You're not the only one but I didn't want to be labeled a Toyota fan-boy if I pointed that out.
 
Nope, I thought the exact same. Our 07 Grand Prix had numerous little issues, but most were before 30K and were resolved. After that it was just a new radio and rebuilt transmission (snapped band at 170K). OP has almost a book of repairs above, and likely forgot something in the mix. OP, tell your wife she deserves a new car! If finances are good, spring for it!
 
My 2009 F150 lariat, 114K mi, just had an Air conditioning compressor failure. It put lots of metal bits into the system! Ford quoted $5600 to replace the evaporator and compressor! So, I fixed it myself.

The Transmission started leaking, so I repaired the seal. Not particularly hard, except it's a bit of a pain to refill.

70+ man-hours later, a few hours each day after work and two long weekends the job is done. I've lost nearly 2 work weeks of free time. The project was much more than I expected.

The truck is worth, maybe, $10,000.

Yes, I should have traded it in two years ago, and purchased a new truck. My free time is in short supply and I've not had many days off the last few years.
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
...

Also, play up a safety angle... airbag light on means the airbag will most likely not deploy in case of a collision.


^^^ Brilliant! ^^^


Or cut the brake lines.
You'll have a new car/wife/both

thumbsup2.gif
 
This is her car and she's happy with it? Be glad she's saving you a payment.

We had another member on here nitpicking a car his partner came into the relationship with...who cares. It's amazing how your viewpoint changes depending on if it's your car or hers that you resent for some weird reason.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Be glad she's saving you a payment.



And consuming a large percentage of your free time with repairs.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Be glad she's saving you a payment.



And consuming a large percentage of your free time with repairs.


Seriously? How much time does this take? And if you paid a shop it would be less than a payment. This is a car maintenance and repair site and we're afraid to turn a wrench?

Originally Posted By: Huie83


The stuff above is on top of what I did this past year:

- Rotors and pads all around.
- Replaced Evap solenoid and purge solenoid.
- Tune up ( plugs, air filter, serp belt)
- Air blend door motor.
 
Quit fixing it, then she won't have a car to drive.

She'll be ready for a new car real quick.

For us, what I say goes when it comes to vehicles, as it should, she can't even change windshield wipers.

I also handle all the money (and make it), so whether we can afford something new is also up to me.
 
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Do something to make the interior smell really bad, like in the old Seinfeld episode.

But seriously, the transmission maintenance you did has not fixed it, probably only delayed the inevitable complete failure.
All the other stuff is relatively minor.
 
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Originally Posted By: dishdude


Seriously? How much time does this take?


See my post above. I spent ALL of my free time repairing my wife's truck. I don't get much free time, so it's particularly annoying. As far as I'm concerned, my free time is the only time I have in life, and life is very short.
 
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Some really good feedback so far, let me answer some of the questions.

- We share this car. We work at the same company, I drive it to work and she drives it home so I can pick up the kiddo's in our Toyota Sienna. I go to work first and come home first.
- I agree, it hasn't held up very well for 130K miles. I've never had a vehicle with so many issues and I don't really want another GM.
- The price of repairs would be of equal or more than the car is worth, even if I were to put a used transmission in it. However, much less than a new car.
- We do have kids, 3 boys. None are old enough to drive yet but the Airbag light being on is always in the back of my mind when she or I are driving it.
- I could pay a shop to do the work but I do all of my own work so trusting a shop is hard. I've also maintained our Sienna, timing belt, brakes, fluids etc. I'm mechanically adept, just tired of the thing and am busier now than I have ever been.
- Her Dad owns a new Impala, like the ride and exterior. Interior is pretty hideous.

I'm thinking I may just need to put all the facts out there and discuss the safety issues, rising maintenance costs etc in more detail, it has a lot weighing against it. We should make this decision together. I purchased our Sienna last year without really getting her involved, she didn't like that and I heard about it for a while...
 
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You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...
 
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...


I thought this too.
A 2010 car with only 130K should have nothing like this number of problems. I never saw this with any Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Honda or Subaru we've had.
It should really still be at the level of having needed a brake job, a couple of sets of tires and some PM.
I'd not buy another one of these personally after the problems the OP has had with this Impala.
If this car has been troublesome junk, what assurance can anyone have that a new one would be better?
Same maker trying to sell the car at what looks to me to be an inflated price for a Chevy.
Maybe time to move on to something else?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...


I thought this too.
A 2010 car with only 130K should have nothing like this number of problems. I never saw this with any Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Honda or Subaru we've had.
It should really still be at the level of having needed a brake job, a couple of sets of tires and some PM.
I'd not buy another one of these personally after the problems the OP has had with this Impala.
If this car has been troublesome junk, what assurance can anyone have that a new one would be better?
Same maker trying to sell the car at what looks to me to be an inflated price for a Chevy.
Maybe time to move on to something else?


You guys are lucky. Had a 2001 TL that was on it's third transmission by 100k, cam seal on the engine let go, HVAC blower went and even the auto dimming mirror leaked and melted the gated shifter under it. You also had to clean the throttle body every 2k or it would stick closed causing you to be unable to feather the throttle.

Every manufacturer makes a turkey. Does that mean I'll never buy a Honda? No.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...


I thought this too.
A 2010 car with only 130K should have nothing like this number of problems. I never saw this with any Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Honda or Subaru we've had.
It should really still be at the level of having needed a brake job, a couple of sets of tires and some PM.
I'd not buy another one of these personally after the problems the OP has had with this Impala.
If this car has been troublesome junk, what assurance can anyone have that a new one would be better?
Same maker trying to sell the car at what looks to me to be an inflated price for a Chevy.
Maybe time to move on to something else?


You guys are lucky. Had a 2001 TL that was on it's third transmission by 100k, cam seal on the engine let go, HVAC blower went and even the auto dimming mirror leaked and melted the gated shifter under it. You also had to clean the throttle body every 2k or it would stick closed causing you to be unable to feather the throttle.

Every manufacturer makes a turkey. Does that mean I'll never buy a Honda? No.


You were very unlucky since your experience with your Acura badged Honda was quite atypical.
The OP's experience with the Impala appears to be far from atypical and that's the problem.
GM knows how to build good vehicles and often does, but those are mostly the truck breadwinners and not the passenger car sideline models.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...


I thought this too.
A 2010 car with only 130K should have nothing like this number of problems. I never saw this with any Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Honda or Subaru we've had.
It should really still be at the level of having needed a brake job, a couple of sets of tires and some PM.
I'd not buy another one of these personally after the problems the OP has had with this Impala.
If this car has been troublesome junk, what assurance can anyone have that a new one would be better?
Same maker trying to sell the car at what looks to me to be an inflated price for a Chevy.
Maybe time to move on to something else?


You guys are lucky. Had a 2001 TL that was on it's third transmission by 100k, cam seal on the engine let go, HVAC blower went and even the auto dimming mirror leaked and melted the gated shifter under it. You also had to clean the throttle body every 2k or it would stick closed causing you to be unable to feather the throttle.

Every manufacturer makes a turkey. Does that mean I'll never buy a Honda? No.


You were very unlucky since your experience with your Acura badged Honda was quite atypical.
The OP's experience with the Impala appears to be far from atypical and that's the problem.
GM knows how to build good vehicles and often does, but those are mostly the truck breadwinners and not the passenger car sideline models.


Sadly no. The transmission, mirror and TB issue were all common on the owner boards.
 
I would recommend a trip to the twin cities auto show it starts on the 10th of March.
 
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...


I'd say on that list, the transmission problem and the airbag light are probably not common problems that you should have on a car with that kind of mileage. Half of that list was just maintenance stuff that should have been done, some of it like the struts were deferred maintenance. He should probably check a forum specifically for his car and see how common those problems are and if there is a simple fix. Otherwise if the transmission is really going, then it's a good reason to dump it.
 
Originally Posted By: thooks
You have a 7 year old car with barely 100k miles on it and it's a complete POS. Yet there are plenty of people saying "go buy a new one"


You can't make this stuff up, folks. Keep on supporting the Big Three...



Typical BITOG anti-new car sentiment.
 
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